Dreams
by Aerlyn-Angel-of-Death
Summary: You lack... hatred... What effect could one little halfremembered dream have on the lives of Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha? Will provide a loving, caring home for any stray reviews you might have.


Title: Dreams  
Author: Aerlyn-Angel-of-Death

A/N: This was written because dreams have so much effect on peoples' lives, and not only the goal kind of dreams. How do you think Freud made a living (not that there's anything sexual about this story)? The only moderately longish story I have ever completed (eighty-two pages) came from a dream. What effect could one little half-remembered dream have on the lives of Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I am making no profit from the writing of this story.

Dreams

Itachi woke up.

It seemed strange, somehow, that he couldn't remember what he'd dreamt about. He knew that it had been a very vivid dream, and it had made him feel cold. He remembered a black sky with red clouds, and Shisui in a river. And somewhere there was the lightning power of chidori – Hatake Kakashi was in his dream? No, he didn't think so… He wished for a minute that he could remember, but it did no good to wish when nothing could be done.

He sat up and turned his sharingan on for an instant, bathing the world in blood as he checked for anything out of place in his room. There was nothing, of course, so he turned it off again and got out of bed. Pulling on random bits of clothing – boxers, a shirt, a glove, and hey, hadn't he lost those pants last month? – he walked to the window and looked outside. The morning was very still; the sky was dark with clouds, and the puddles on the ground rippled as drops of water hit their surfaces. The air looked hazed over with static, but it was only rain. He was momentarily thankful that he didn't have a mission today.

He carefully brushed out his hair and tied it back, using the window for a mirror as he watched the falling rain. Last he tied on his hitai-ate. Sheet lightning flickered, and the responding thunder was almost gentle with its deep rumbling. Everything seemed so peaceful beyond the pane of glass, like the world was waiting for the rain to stop before it would continue. He padded across the floor to open his bedroom door, feeling quiet and serene inside, with no need to break the morning's silence.

"ONII-CHAN, ONII-CHAN, IT'S RAINING!!! CAN WE GO PLAY OUTSIDE, CAN WE PLEASE????"

Well. There was the world, patiently waiting for the storm to pass, and then there was Sasuke, leaping shrieking into the middle of it.

He sighed and caught the five-year-old by the collar of his shirt as the child made to fling himself out the front door and into the nearest rain-puddle. Despite much complaining – although not too much, because Itachi could see that his brother desperately did not want to annoy him enough to make him leave this morning – he got his younger brother into a rain coat and rubber boots.

With Sasuke outside, Itachi could almost pretend the morning was undisturbed. He went into the kitchen and made some tea, sipping it quietly as he listened to the rain on the roof and the faint sound of Sasuke screaming happily at the thunder and lightning. Why couldn't Sasuke be a normal child, and be afraid of thunder storms? Itachi could deal with him when the little boy wanted to hide under his bed or come shiver in Itachi's arms because of a nightmare, but he didn't have experience with happy children. Happy children were generally not around Itachi. Happy children were generally happy because they were not around Itachi.

He drank more tea.

He heard Sasuke's screaming stop. The front door slid open, then closed. Rubber boots were removed – he heard the dull 'clump' sound as they were placed on the floor – and bare feet came running across the wooden floors. Sasuke appeared at the doorway, panting and flushed, his hood down, hair wet and plastered to his skin, face flushed and happy. Itachi watched with mild distaste as the boy's coat dripped water all over the floor. "Onii-chan," Sasuke panted, smiling, his black eyes bright "come play with me." It wasn't exactly a question, but not really an order either. Itachi sipped his tea again and looked pointedly at Sasuke's wet coat.

Sasuke looked down, saw the puddle he was forming on the floor, and his mouth formed a small 'o' of realization. He squeaked and ran off back to the entrance.

Itachi calmly got up and used a towel to wipe up the water on the floor, wondering why small children always seemed to squeak when they got surprised or scared. He sat down again and poured himself more tea.

Sasuke came racing back and jumped right into his lap. Only exceptional ninja skills kept the eleven-year-old from spilling tea on his brother's head. Tiny arms wrapped around his waist, and Sasuke looked up at him with his chin rested on his older brother's chest. "Play with me? Please? We don't even have to train or anything…" he said hopefully. Itachi hoped his brother's eyes would get smaller as he got older, because otherwise he'd end up looking like some weird kind of insect…

He felt a strange kind of jolt in his head like an electric shock, and for an instant his vision shifted so that the Sasuke he was seeing was older – closer to Itachi's age now – and his eyes were angry and spiteful as Itachi held his wrist. _"I'll kill you!" Chidori._

"Onii-chan?"

Itachi shook himself. He had a feeling that he'd been remembering a bit of his dream. He repressed a shiver and set his cup on the table before standing up with Sasuke still latched onto his waist. Putting on his raincoat and boots, he made a silent prayer of apology to the peaceful morning before once more unleashing Sasuke on it.

They went through the streets together, Sasuke leaping through puddles, Itachi following calmly behind with an umbrella leaned against his shoulder. There weren't many people awake at this hour, but Itachi had a feeling that after Sasuke was done there would be quite a few more. He kept an eye out for any irritated ninjas wanting to kill one small, loud child.

All screamed out, Sasuke ran back and slipped his wet fingers into Itachi's, leaning into him. Itachi wished for a moment that Sasuke was still a baby so he could just pick him up and carry him. The boy was just at the size where he was too big to carry but too small to hold onto and stand up properly next to at the same time.

Another jolt. Itachi was walking in the mist, but now next to a different person, a much larger person – a much more dangerous person. With… blue skin? They were passing a guard at the gate, and Itachi had no intention of being stopped by him.

_Why would I be stopped by guards of my own village?_ his brain asked, and he couldn't answer.

Sasuke tugged on his hand, bringing him back to reality. They went into a ramen stand and Itachi ordered two bowls. Sasuke beamed at him and hugged his leg before sitting down. Itachi gave an inward sigh and a smile as he watched his younger brother try to gobble down his food and babble about training at the same time.

Sometimes he felt really terrible about his brother – the little boy was always trying so hard to catch up to him, but it was just too hard for him at his age. It wasn't Sasuke's fault he wasn't a ninja genius; for a normal child his age, he was exceptional. When he grew up, Sasuke would be a great ninja. If only their father could see that…

Itachi reached out and used a napkin to wipe off some broth that was dripping down the boy's chin. He wished, for Sasuke's sake, that he'd been born into a different family, if only so that he wouldn't kill himself trying to be what their father expected.

As they walked through the village, Sasuke held tightly to his hand, and waved vigorously at everyone they passed. He seemed so happy to be here, so happy that Itachi was paying attention to him… And it occurred to him, as a strange sort of passing thought, that, really, why should he take away Sasuke's dreams?

Itachi paused a moment, and Sasuke looked up at him, black eyes huge and happy. Itachi smiled easily at him and ruffled the child's soft, wet black hair before taking his brother's hand again. They went home and wrapped themselves in blankets. Itachi made tea, and Sasuke burned his tongue. The boy fell asleep in Itachi's lap around noon, and the strange thoughts slunk back into Itachi's head soon after. Why take away Sasuke's dreams about catching up to Itachi by wishing he'd been in another family? If becoming stronger was truly what the boy wanted, and if Itachi really wanted to help him, support him, then really, it couldn't be so hard to help him along. He had some real talent, and if only he could find the key to putting some extreme motivation behind his training…

What motivated Sasuke Uchiha? What could give him so much focus and determination that he would go above and beyond personal comfort and restraint to become what he wanted to be? What obstacles would have to be overcome in order for Sasuke to reach his goals?

Their father briefly came back from police headquarters, and expressed his narrow-eyed disappointment that Sasuke wasn't training. Their mother, always pampering, saw that Sasuke had managed to cut his leg and hurried to apply a bandage, trying not to wake him up in the process. Later that afternoon their aunt and uncle dropped by to congratulate Itachi on joining the ANBU, and ask when Sasuke would be starting at the Academy. Shisui came and perched on the windowsill, and asked if Itachi wanted to go use the new indoor practice grounds. Itachi brushed him off, gesturing to the sleeping boy in his lap.

…_Obstacles…_

What obstacles would Itachi have to overcome, to help his brother?

And another snatch of dream fluttered across his mind. _Broken bones, glaring red eyes – too badly injured to struggle against his hand. "You lack… hatred…"_

What would they both have to do, to achieve their dreams?

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A/N: This has been sitting in some far-off folder for months, lonely and unfinished. I stumbled on it and decided to finish it, just because I liked the start so much – so here you go.

Oh, and just a note to 'Absynthe' – especially because you what? You want to talk about bad grammar, that's a dangling participle right there. And I don't have a beta reader, because very simply I'd be too afraid to ask.


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